Archived: Avante Care and Support Limited

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People said they felt safe and staff treated them well. The service had appropriate safeguarding adults procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures. There was a whistle-blowing procedure available and staff said they would use it if they needed to. Action was taken to assess any risks to people using the service. People said there was always enough staff available to meet their needs. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work.

The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and acted according to this legislation. Staff had completed an induction when they started work and they were up to date with their training. People had access to health care professionals when they needed them.

People had been consulted about their care and support needs. Care plans and risk assessments provided information for staff on how to support people to meet their needs. People were aware of the complaints procedure and said they were confident their complaints would be listened to, investigated and action taken if necessary.

Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and they received good support from the office staff and the registered manager. They said there was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support and advice was always available when they needed it.

The provider recognised the importance of monitoring the quality of the service provided to people. They took into account the views of people using the service through satisfaction surveys and telephone monitoring calls. The provider carried out unannounced checks on staff to make sure people were supported in line with their plans of care.

People told us that their views, choices and preferences were taken into account in the way their care and support was delivered. We saw that people's care needs were assessed, however risk assessments were not always in place to ensure the welfare and safety of individuals. We saw that safeguarding procedures were in place to ensure that people using the service were protected from abuse. The provider had effective recruitment procedures in place, and checks were undertaken to ensure that staff were qualified to carry out their role. We found the provider did not have an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.